"What is the amount?" he asked.
Paulvitch named an enormous sum. Tarzan could scarce restrain a
smile.
Their very cupidity was to prove the means of their undoing, in the
matter of the ransom at least. Purposely he hesitated and haggled
over the amount, but Paulvitch was obdurate. Finally the ape-man
wrote out his cheque for a larger sum than stood to his credit at
the bank.
As he turned to hand the worthless slip of paper to the Russian
his glance chanced to pass across the starboard bow of the Kincaid.
To his surprise he saw that the ship lay within a few hundred yards
of land. Almost down to the water's edge ran a dense tropical
jungle, and behind was higher land clothed in forest.
Paulvitch noted the direction of his gaze.
"You are to be set at liberty here," he said.
Tarzan's plan for immediate physical revenge upon the Russian
vanished. He thought the land before him the mainland of Africa,
and he knew that should they liberate him here he could doubtless
find his way to civilization with comparative ease.
Paulvitch took the cheque.
"Remove your clothing," he said to the ape-man. "Here you will
not need it."
Tarzan demurred.
Paulvitch pointed to the armed sailors. Then the Englishman slowly
divested himself of his clothing.
A boat was lowered, and, still heavily guarded, the ape-man was
rowed ashore.
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